Human Rights Education: Refugees and Asylum Seekers’ Right to Education

Abstract

The global era is characterized by large and increasing migration waves. The reasons for migration vary tremendously (e.g., political instability of the origin country’s regime, rapid technological changes, poverty, war, and extreme climate changes). Globalization and information and communications technology facilitate larger and increasing migration waves, as people are better able to receive and share up-to-date, detailed, and relevant information on potential destination countries, whether official or unofficial. This chapter is focused on a special group of migrants, whose decision to leave their countries was not based on their own choice or preferences, but was rather based on constraints and compulsion—refugees and asylum seekers. More specifically, this chapter is focused on the right to education of the children of refugees and asylum seekers. This chapter examines the right to education of school-aged children of refugees and asylum seekers from African countries who reside in Israel. The research is focused in the following questions: who are the main actors shaping the education finance policy, and what are their voices expressed in it? To what extent, if at all, are the de-facto and de-jure education finance policies in harmony? And, to what extent is the right to education accessible and secured? Qualitative policy analysis is conducted, using national policy documents, relevant laws and litigations, and interviews with local policy makers. Results reveal disharmony in the composition of policy actors’ voices. Local authorities, who are dominant actors, differ in the extent to which they secure these children’s right to education. Asylum seeker and refugees’ children’s access to adequate and equitable education is related to the financial ability of each local unit. The study concludes that a cross-localities collaboration might secure these children right to education at the national level.